Westminster orders halt to MBTA project

Saturday

Dec 29, 2012 at 6:00 AMDec 29, 2012 at 6:51 AM

By Paula J. Owen TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF

It could shape up as a David-and-Goliath tale: The small, bucolic town of Westminster, population about 7,000, going up against the state's Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, which is backed with millions in federal stimulus money.

Although this small town issued a cease-and-desist order on a big-money MBTA project on Friday, the fact is, officials from the MBTA say, their projects fall under federal regulations, not small-town, local bylaws.

The rub is over the proposed layover station at the Westminster Business Park off Route 2A.

The layover station is part of a larger project costing more than $100 million and including improvements along the rails into Boston and the construction of a new commuter station in Fitchburg. The proposed layover station in Westminster will house five trains that will park overnight, with the last one arriving at 1 a.m. The trains will start up an hour before their departure at 5 a.m. The design includes track for a sixth train in the future.

When first proposed, town officials supported the project and sent a letter to the MBTA saying so.

But this is a different time — and a different Board of Selectmen.

And these selectmen issued a cease-and-desist order, alleging unlawful earth removal at the construction site.

Westminster police hand-delivered the order on-site to MBTA contractor Mark Eggleston of S&R Construction; and by certified mail to the Montachusett Regional Transit Authority, which owns the land being developed; to top officials at the MBTA; and to a co-owner of the Westminster Business Park.

Selectman Joseph E. Flanagan said the order was issued because the MBTA had not met with Westminster officials before construction started, nor had the MBTA applied for an earth-removal permit.

“We are being asked to ignore our general bylaws and trust that the MBTA will do the right thing,” Mr. Flanagan, “but the history of this project is already filled with broken promises, and construction hasn't even started.”

Joseph Pesaturo, spokesman for the MBTA, said when the project was first proposed, Westminster selectmen expressed their support for the project in a letter to MART that was forwarded to the MBTA.

Mr. Pesaturo said the work will continue on the layover station despite the order from the town. MBTA officials, he said, will meet with selectmen Jan. 7 to address the town's concerns.

However, the bad blood between the town and MBTA runs deeper than gaining approval for earth removal.

Selectmen say project proponents from MART promised to abide by local permitting, but pulled a “bait-and-switch” when the Federal Transit Administration changed ownership of the project to the MBTA midstream without informing the town.

Mr. Flanagan also alleges the MBTA is claiming immunity and is reneging on its promise to mitigate noise during layover station operation.

“They promised to mitigate the layover station noise to conform to Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection standards,” Mr. Flanagan said in the board's letter. “Our town voted to spend $10,000 on an independent noise study after the MBTA stated they would observe only the far less stringent federal noise standards. That study shows some residents' quiet enjoyment of their homes will be adversely affected by the project's exceeding DEP thresholds.”

Moreover, Mr. Flanagan said the town was lied to about future economic benefits the layover station would bring.

They are not paying the town any taxes, he said, and are taking away prime industrial property without bringing in any business or jobs.

Mr. Flanagan said the town's initial approval of the project was conditional upon it receiving economic benefits.

“They promised us by approving the project as tax-exempt they would offset it with economic development benefits, specifically facilitating freight within the Westminster business park,” Mr. Flanagan said previously. “We've been asking for over a year now, and we have yet to see any evidence of that. All we are getting is a tax-exempt layover station that is noisier than we were led to believe.”

According to MART officials, the MBTA is spending money on infrastructure that will extend the rail into the park, but it cannot spend money on private economic development. They say it wouldn't make sense to build a rail spur not knowing what type of business will locate next to it and what freight cars that business will need.

If it were up to Westminster officials, the MBTA would focus on bigger problems and leave their small town alone.

“The layover station will serve a proposed second commuter rail station in neighboring Fitchburg and is being built with federal stimulus money at a time when the deeply indebted agency is cutting services elsewhere and raising fares everywhere,” Mr. Flanagan said.